Lt. General Sir Frederick Morgan, chief of the UNRRA Operations in Germany, whose statement on Jews who are fleeing from Poland provoked great resentment in America and in England, today declared that he saw no reason why he should resign. In a statement issued to the press, Gen. Morgan said.
“I have not resigned, because I see no reason why I should resign. It was unfortunate that in some quarters what I said was distorted. My one and only objective in saying what I did was to do what I could to bring to the attention of the competent authorities the urgent necessity for producing a positive and constructive solution to the displaced persons problem as a whole.
“It is a thousand pities that the Jewish angle of the problem has been so unduly highlighted. It is only one fraction of a very much larger whole, which I hope will not tend to obscure the broader picture. The fact remains that a solution of the overall displaced persons problem must be found – and quickly.”
In an earlier statement, the British general emphasized that in his remarks on Wednesday he was not referring to the Jewish question as a whole, but “to local symptoms which seem to me to be as unhealthy as the lack of general plan to bring an end to the fear and wanderings of there unfortunate people.
“It is to be regretted,” Morgan declared, “that my remarks were interpreted in some quarters as an attack on the motives of European Jewry in their present itinerant state. It seems probable that some Jews have been encouraged to leave their permanent homes by unauthorized sources. Many other Jews may well have been driven from their homes by threats and occasional violence.
“My purpose in bringing up the problem of European Jews – both in its pitiful and curious aspects – was to bring to the attention of the world the need for a solution more permanent than UNRRA can possibly furnish. Those Jews who remain alive after Hitler’s six-year program of extermination deserve, in my opinion, more than sympathy and temporary shelter.”
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
